Crew Member Jumps Off Carnival Cruise Ship, Is Rescued

(5:45 p.m. EST) -- A crewmember who jumped overboard Saturday evening from Carnival Magic was quickly rescued by fast-acting ship personnel, according to the line.

In a statement, Carnival said the crew member “was witnessed jumping overboard” at 10:53 p.m. Saturday, some 100 miles southeast of Galveston as Carnival Magic was on its way back to the port.

The Galveston Daily News quotes a Coast Guard official as saying that the crewmember was rescued after a lifeboat was lowered from the ship and was found quickly because he was wearing a life vest with a strobe light attached. The Coast Guard was alerted about the incident, but the rescue happened quickly enough that the Coast Guard never needed to launch a rescue helicopter.

Carnival's statement also said the "crew member was located and was brought back on board where he was evaluated by the ship's medical staff. The ship continued its course and arrived at Galveston this morning as scheduled."

No reason was given for why the man jumped or why he was wearing a life vest; there's no word whether he required further medical care when the ship reached port.

Rescues are somewhat rare in overboard situations. We last reported on a rescue in October, when a P&O Ventura passenger who went overboard was recovered and returned safely to the ship. The vessel was en route from Madeira, Portugal, to the Caribbean.